On this episode of Normally, Mary Katharine Ham and Karol Markowicz break down a packed Independence Day weekend as America celebrates its 250th birthday. From President Trump’s patriotic message and Zohran Mamdani’s competing vision for America to the growing influence of Democratic Socialists across the country, they examine the cultural and political battles shaping America’s future.
Mary Katharine and Karol discuss why socialism is gaining momentum among younger voters, the Democratic Party’s internal fight over its future, and what recent primary victories could mean heading into upcoming elections. They also dive into the debate over American exceptionalism, immigration, citizenship, and the importance of preserving the values that built the country.
Plus, they react to the latest culture moments — including Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce’s headline-making wedding, America’s soccer controversy with FIFA, and the renewed debate over universities dropping SAT requirements and whether lowering standards hurts the students it claims to help.
Follow Clay & Buck on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/clayandbuck
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Speaker 1 (00:06):
Hey guys, we are back on normally the show with
normalist takes for when the news gets weird.
Speaker 2 (00:10):
I am Mary Catherine Ham and I'm Carol Markowitz. How
are you, Mary Catherine? Happy two hundred and fifty years
to this great country.
Speaker 1 (00:18):
Of ours, Happy to fiftieth. It's it's quite an occasion.
I've been living a period accurate lifestyle because my phone
went in the lake, So just just pretending that I'm
a colonialist, a patriot of long ago with no way
to contact anyone.
Speaker 2 (00:37):
Are you kind of enjoying it? Like there's no scrolling, right,
I mean, it's.
Speaker 1 (00:40):
Got a nice discuss, so I may I may have
missed a few things, but I've tried to catch up.
Speaker 2 (00:47):
It was a really busy weekend. I mean that was
a busy Independence Day weekend. That was not like one
of those relaxing, like you know, luxurious weekend. No, No,
this was it was on so I don't know. First
of all, Trump and mom Donnie had competing speeches, and
we'll get into that in a minute. The United States
(01:10):
had a red card during their soccer match and it
got overturned yesterday, and that's a real big deal, and
we'll talk about that Taylor Swift and Travis Kelcey got
married because so many things. Yeah, so just you know
a lot of stuff.
Speaker 1 (01:27):
Yeah, we had a great time. We always host family
for July fourth, so it's a you know, it's hectic.
I do love how my children just are completely on
their own when the cousins are there, like there's no
they don't need me anymore. They're like your pesse mom here.
(01:50):
So that's always fun. It's hectic, but they're off doing
their own thing. Had some great swimming times despite the heat.
And I don't know, it's I think it's hard to make.
I have feel this pressure to make sure I'm celebrating
and understanding enough how amazing this anniversary is, this birthday is.
But also I think we did get the We had
(02:11):
the kids watch The Patriot, which I felt like it
was a pretty good July fourth call and they were
very into it.
Speaker 2 (02:17):
I to add that to my movie list. I have
two out of three of my kids are away, which
was a bummer because I really wanted to celebrate you know,
two fifty with them. It's obviously like a really big deal,
and I wanted to go see Young Washington. We're going
to go see it when they come back and nice.
You know, it's a it's a family event celebrating our
incredible country and our two hundred fifty anniversary.
Speaker 1 (02:41):
It was great. I did we did suffer from the
very serious thunderstorms here. We were not in the city,
but nonetheless were hit by them, and it was it
was pretty exciting, everybody just running for the house. That
happened a lot.
Speaker 2 (02:57):
I have to say that the thunderstorm out of nowhere
is one of our one of our things. But we
had like glorious, like not too hot weather at all
while there was a New York and in DC. It
was funny because I you know, I was like, oh,
you guys are just we're gonna have the same weather.
And then it was like, oh, we're actually gonna have
like eighty and breezy.
Speaker 1 (03:17):
Yeah that's nice. But again, once again, once the cousins
are there, I feel like my children's uh stamina goes up,
like they're just like you always think they're gonna melt
or they're gonna melt down. It's just it's gonna be
too much. And then they're like, no, I'm still good.
I've been I've been swimming and running around in one
hundred gree heat and I'm totally fine.
Speaker 2 (03:39):
Mom. Yeah, great, it feels like the eighties and nineteen eighties.
You know, that's what we did. We ran around the
heat and there was nobody to be like, oh, you know,
are you gonna are you gonna be okay? Can I
get you anything? Like?
Speaker 1 (03:50):
They didn't even give us water. No, it was a
different time.
Speaker 2 (03:55):
It was a different didn't even live on who knows.
I don't know.
Speaker 1 (03:59):
I think I I I thought I was dehydrated for
about thirty years, and then one day I realized, oh,
I would feel better if I just drink.
Speaker 2 (04:06):
At Yeah, it really does work, that water.
Speaker 3 (04:09):
It's the whole thing, all right, let's get let's talk
about it, Momdanie decided to give a two fifty speech,
which everybody was like why.
Speaker 2 (04:22):
Because he did not seem like he was into America
or America's birthday or any of it at all. He
spent the entire World Cup wearing a New York jersey
for a team that like you know, is not playing,
and it made no sense. So him deciding to give
a speech was very like I on the future of
like his you know, political future. But he also is
(04:45):
not born in America, so he can't run for president.
So what is that futures? You want to be governor
of New York. I mean mayors of New York generally
do not go on to be governors. I think very
I would say maybe none. I every one of them
ends in disaster. So yeah, that's that's the confusing Mumdannie.
Speaker 1 (05:05):
I think I think he did it because there's an
opening for a leader of this party. Yeah, and he
is a Democratic socialist, and he would prefer that the
leader of this party be a Democratic socialist to a Democrat.
Now for you and I, we might look at your
average LIB and say, eh, you guys aren't that far
apart really, which is which is why I think the
(05:26):
likes of Hackeim Jeffreys are going to get rolled so
hard by Mom Donnie and the socialists. But to him,
he's like, look, I am an official, real, loud and
proud socialist, and I would like to be the one
calling the shots. So he's putting himself in the position
where he is giving a speech basically opposite Trump, and
(05:48):
they did embody very different visions for the United States
of America. And that's what he's putting out there.
Speaker 2 (05:54):
Yeah, So what was interesting was, Mum, Donnie's known for
being this smiley so he's having a good time. He's
jumping into pools fully clothed, he's you know, riding his
bicycle around New York City. He's supposed to be the
fun guy, and he came off as dour and just
not angry here but very not on the mark, which
(06:18):
was funny because Trump came off as extremely likable and personable.
And the criticism, of course of Trump is that he
often talks about himself and he didn't do that this time.
He like paid tribute to veterans and you know, armed
forces and our America's amazing accomplishments. And so what you
hide from, mom Donnie is he's standing around with what
he said was newly sworn in Americans who had immigrated
(06:43):
to this country. You know, I was like them at
one point. They're standing there holding these little flags as
if they're in a hostage video. Nobody's smiling, nobody's having
a good time, and it just it's at odds with
the message that's been there for a out him, which
is that he's this you know, happy socialist. He's the
(07:04):
happy warrior socialist and didn't seem like he was happy
at all.
Speaker 1 (07:08):
Yeah, it was a strange vibe. I think it was
a fairly uncharacteristic misstep for him with tone. It felt
as you say, I think he's best. He's at his
best when he looks like he's having fun, and he's
pretty good at looking like he's having fun frequently, and
that takes off the hard edges of the you know,
philosophy that has killed millions of people around the world.
(07:30):
So the unworkable economic philosophy leads to ruin. And so
that is his strength, and he did not play to
his strength here, and he took what is our most
joyous civic observance, which is the naturalization of citizen like
(07:53):
you've You've been to them. I've been to them, You've
been naturalized like this is. It's a an incredible moment
where you're welcoming new people. They're very excited to be citizens,
You're excited to have them. It's something that's you know,
deep in our you know, American DNA to do this,
and I've never seen one where the recipients of American
(08:17):
citizenship look this sad, and I think they they quickly
figured out that this wasn't a great look. Because again,
he's great at pictures. He does the jump into the pool,
he does the you know, the jersey everywhere he goes,
and the play in soccer on the field and in
his tie and all that. He does pictures very well.
He does imagery very well. This did not look good.
(08:39):
He's sitting at Washington's desk with a frown on his face,
surrounded by people with frowns on their faces, and talking
about how American exceptionalism is only exceptional because you know,
he can still change America to make it in his mold.
I guess right, right, we have a clip? Right, do
we have a clip? And I will note too. The
(08:59):
next day they put up another picture where everybody's smiling.
It is not reflected in this bit here, which we'll
see him give a little bit of a speech.
Speaker 4 (09:08):
There is a term so often used to describe our
nation and those who have shaped it, American exceptionalism. American exceptionalism,
the conventional wisdom tells us, makes our freedom a little
more free. Is how we dug the Erie Canal and
irrigated the West. Is why children in far away lands
grow up dreaming of one day moving here. And yet
the irony is that the story of America has so
(09:29):
often been written by those who were told by others
with power and influence and wealth that they were anything
but exceptional. For generation after generation, we have been told
that when the world has sent its people to our shores,
it has not sent its best. It sent Puritans and
Sikhs and Quakers and Muslims and Jewish people who were
banished for praying the wrong way, worshiping the wrong gods,
(09:51):
angering the wrong people. It sent peasants and serfs from
slums and chettles who were treated as less because they
hardly owned clothes, let alone land. It sent immigrants from
whom power was something someone else had. We are told
that America is exceptional because we are richer, stronger, more
powerful than everyone else. The truth, my friends, is that
(10:13):
America is exceptional because here nothing is fixed into place.
The frontier may be closed, we may have walked on
the moon, but the work of fulfilling the values first
enshrined in the Declaration of Independence. That work endures, and
it belongs to us all. It belongs to to our
newest Americans, those standing here with me today, all of
(10:34):
whom were recently naturalized. Nearly a decade ago, I too
felt what you feel, the joy of no longer being
just a New Yorker, but an American too. You each
hold a special power, the power to determine what America means.
The powerful have always known their answer. America, in their view,
is an arena of supremacy. We're only a select view
(10:57):
or allowed freedom where not all are created equal. America,
if you ask them, becomes less the more people it welcomes. America,
they will tell you, belongs only to those with the
right accent or the right shade of skin. The rest
of us, they insist, should be grateful for merely being
allowed to visit, how small they are, how weak, how unoriginal.
(11:18):
At every moment in our past, those who led through
exclusion and isolation have tried to win power and enrich
themselves by turning us against one another. Division is the
oldest trick in politics and the cheapest. But time and again,
including two hundred and fifty years ago, though, those forces
of division have been vanquished by the forces of progress.
(11:41):
As Thomas Paine once wrote, this New World hath been
the asylum for the persecuted lovers of civil and religious liberty.
Hither have they fled. And yet today too many of
our leaders do not believe in a vision of this
nation as an asylum for the persecuted.
Speaker 2 (11:57):
All right, yeah, you know. Just the thing is, the
last five plus years had the concern about immigration. The
conversation about immigration has not been about race, and it
has not been about religion. It has been about the
papers that these people lack in getting into our country.
(12:17):
They're not coming legally. And from Homdanni, that has been fine.
For the rest of us. We don't think that's fine.
We don't think that breaking the law to get here
because you don't think that America's law should be respected,
is acceptable. And so him turning it into a thing
about race or religion or whatever, it is completely not
about that, and it hasn't been. And he has to
(12:39):
step over the point, which is that legal immigration is
bad for our country in order to get there, and
it's really disingenuous.
Speaker 1 (12:46):
He's also appropriating the actual hard and legal work that
all of the people flanking him did to become legally
naturalized citizens. By sort of just blurring the categories in
this way, I think he gets in exactly backwards. We
are rich and strong and powerful and prosperous because we
(13:07):
are exceptional and free. Yeah, like he gets it exactly backwards.
He says our freedom is better because we're richer, we're strong, right,
like the crazy stew that made this country made us
rich and prosperous and strong and inventive and creative and
all of those things. And there also is this there's
(13:30):
such great irony in being a progressive, because being a
progressive means one must never admit progress. So in the
same speech, he's saying, the afflicted came here in the
sixteen seventeen hundreds, eighteen hundreds, all throughout right when we
were this terrible nation that hadn't met its promises. They're
(13:51):
coming because they were persecuted. They're not the best according
to the powerful. They've been coming here for hundreds of years,
and now he has to say that in twenty twenty six,
that has all changed, no progress has been made. We
are so terrible. Yeah, Like, that's just not ringing true
for me. It could just be that there were no
(14:12):
rules for five years and people were like, we should
have rules again.
Speaker 2 (14:16):
Yep, that's exactly it. And I think a lot of people,
like I read things that I wrote, you know, in
the last decade, and I don't believe those things anymore
because of what happened in the last five years. Like
my view on a lot of things has changed. I think,
for example, I used to be extremely into the idea
of birthright citizenship. I thought it was an incredible thing
that we had in America right, and then all these
(14:37):
people took advantage of it, and I no longer think that.
It's like, you have to evolve on your views. You
can't just you know, hold on to them. And I
think what happened in the last five years really shifted
a lot of perceptions. And he's trying to make it
seem as if the anti immigrant sentiment is about the
people standing around him, and it's just not.
Speaker 1 (14:59):
He also repeatedly says, you know, he's fighting division, but
then he's like this mythical they tell you they if
you ask them, they say something different. It's all very dour,
and I do have to say there is sort of
a time, place, and manner issue with the way liberals
(15:19):
talk about the country. Like if you had a friend
whose birthday party it was, and you just walked in
and were like, I mean, you're not so perfect. The
friend would be like, I mean, it's my birthday, and
it's like and here you are not answering for all
your faults, and your friend is like, I don't. I
just thought we'd have a party, and the lives like,
(15:40):
absolutely not, we cannot do that. We gotta lecture you.
And the throat clearing on the occasion of the two
hundred and fiftieth birthday is annoying. I don't think it
is something that is reflected in normal period people's experience
of these of this holiday.
Speaker 2 (15:57):
And I'm really glad, you know, so some of the
things that I've I enjoyed in the last few days.
I don't know if you saw, but John and Rassic
who is He's the wonderful band five for Fighting. He
performed on the USS Knimits, and he performed his song
(16:17):
Superman for the Navy at FDNY Heroes and gold Star Families,
and he performed it with former hostage in Israel alone,
Oh Hill, and it's just it was so beautiful and
it was like a miracle, watching a miracle come to life. Really,
our friend Jarvis's Best said it best. I think on
X he said, first time I saw John alone was
(16:38):
a hostage in Gaza. John told everyone that he was
going to do this one day. It was a nice thought,
but and then here you.
Speaker 5 (16:44):
Are here, they are so really really I also liked
and I would say in so the July fourth celebration
on the Mall, of course featured I think they said
like eight hundred and fifty thousand fireworks.
Speaker 1 (16:57):
I was not there for that part. I was not
there for the July fourth celebration. I had been on
them all earlier in the week. But I would encourage
everybody to say that Trump's going to make every speech
about himself, because the more you say that, the shorter
his speeches are liable to be. The occasions where this
has happened have been the Army's Birthday, where I think
(17:18):
he gave one of his shortest speeches, and at the
UFC fight, where I don't believe he gave a speech.
I think the camera pan to him and he did
not give a speech. And then this one, I think
it was about a thirty five minute speech on the
occasion of the two fiftieth after, as you said, people
had been evacuated and then been able to come back in.
It was very late at night. I was a little
worried that he was just going to talk for a very,
(17:39):
very long time. But he honored Medal of Honor recipients,
He honored World War Two veterans. There's a stunning shot
of World War Two vets watching the display from their memorial.
A beautiful thing. And he kind of for all his faults,
he gets it. It's an exceptional nation because of the
(18:01):
idea and the brave people who created this free place.
Speaker 2 (18:05):
And look he hit his topics. You know, he talked
about tightening election laws, proof of citizenship, restrictions on mail voting.
I mean, this all went into his speech, but ultimately
it was a speech about how amazing America is. You
know what else he did that? I thought it was interesting.
I think people are starting to use the language like communism.
It is what's happening. And we'll talk more about some
(18:27):
communes that want elections in the next segment. But I
think it's just a more obvious, blunt way of describing
the people who are winning, like this democratic socialist nonsense
label is not one that we should give them just
because they chose it for themselves. It's not what it is.
It is communism, and I think Trump calling it out.
Speaker 1 (18:45):
I like it well, and we should also entertain exactly
what they say their goals are right, And it's not
like healthcare for all, although that is listed among them.
It's like we should overthrow the American gun. So I
think dealing seriously with that is part of being honest
about who they are, even if they want to claim
it's just like, oh, just like Medica for all, that's
(19:07):
like what we're into. But yeah, I appreciate it. I
think we have a little clip of Trump also speaking
to what makes this country exceptional.
Speaker 6 (19:17):
For two and a half centuries, our American Republic has
stood as the crowning.
Speaker 7 (19:21):
Achievement of human history.
Speaker 6 (19:25):
This country is the home of freedom.
Speaker 7 (19:28):
This is the land of liberty. And this is a
flag that's the banner.
Speaker 6 (19:34):
Of the most extraordinary, most exceptional, most incredible nation ever
to exist on the face of the earth. And we're
doing better now than we've ever done before. No people
have done more good, shown more courage, made more progress,
(19:54):
righted more injustice, or achieved more greatness than you, the
American people. For two hundred and fifty years, the United
States of America has been the hope, the promise, the light,
and the glory among all of the nations of the world.
Speaker 7 (20:11):
All over the world, they try and be like us.
Speaker 6 (20:14):
Nobody can be like us, and with the God's help,
we will always be this or even better.
Speaker 1 (20:22):
Those are the two visions. It's pretty clear and pretty distinct.
Speaker 2 (20:27):
Any other points from the weekend? Actually, I have another one.
Melissa Chen posted this amazing video of her boyfriend Winston Marshall.
He was in a band called Mumford and Sons and
then was asked to leave because he didn't have the
right political opinions, but he posted this. She posted this
great video of him talking about a tribute to the
banjo and it's like, it's a very American instrument and
(20:50):
I just loved it. I watched the whole thing. It's
like eight minutes long, and it's just a gorgeous video
describing this beautiful instrument that's all American and it was
really nice to see.
Speaker 1 (21:01):
Oh, very nice. Do we want to do the two
other big American events this week? Well, there's the red
card being overturned by FIFA. So one of our star
strikers on the USA team was given a pretty questionable
red card in the last matchup that looked quite accidental
(21:23):
and a red card means he's out for that game,
which we then ended up winning despite being down a man,
and he's supposed to be out for the next game,
which would have been very problematic against Belgium. That will
have been played by the time you hear this. But
in the meantime there was talk of can you appeal this?
What does that look like? And apparently the US lawyered
up FIFA was examining Trump at some point made a.
Speaker 2 (21:47):
Call and now it's overturned, right, So Clay Travis reports
that his sources say President Trump Commerce Secretary Howard lutnik,
I just love that Lutnix. He's just involved here. I'm
not really sure what the role is. And then he
says White House Task Force head Andrew Giuliani put together
a team of elite lawyers from outside the government to
challenge the flow ball again red card. Specifically, they challenged
(22:09):
the use of slow motion instant replay to give the
red card, which they argued violated FIFA rules. The President
also conveyed the Gianni Infantino, FIFA's president, that the appeal
had been filed and he believed the red card penalty
was excessive. FIFA's independent Committee reviewed the decision and agreed
the penalty was incorrectly given, rescinding it under their rule
twenty seven authority. Now, people who love Trump are like
(22:31):
Trump did this, and people who hate Trump are like
Trump did this. But it turns out, or it sounds
like that FIFA did this for their own purposes and
really not having much to do with Donald Trump. It's
a really good tweets arrest them.
Speaker 1 (22:47):
Like I did see some funny tweets that were like,
be honest with yourselself. If you think Kamala Harris would
have gotten this red card and turned, you're crazy. But
I do think this makes us a real soccer nation
for the like questionable FIFA reactions that are maybe a
little on the corrupt side, like you know, at least
from a parent's sake, were fully soccer people. Now, I guess, yeah,
(23:10):
all right, we'll take it.
Speaker 2 (23:11):
You know, all right. The other big story, Taylor Swift
got married at Madison Square Garden. And you know, when
I would say things out loud like wow, this really
just doesn't seem like Taylor Swift at all, my husband
would say, you don't actually know her, and that's fair, that's.
Speaker 1 (23:27):
A good that's a fair point shot.
Speaker 2 (23:30):
Very good. Yes's true, But of what I know of her,
it did not seem like something she would do. Even
til the last minute. I kept being like, this is
some sort of psych out, this is.
Speaker 1 (23:40):
A fake out.
Speaker 2 (23:41):
There's no way this is really how she's going to
get married. But no, she did it. That crazy crazy
lady married at Madison Square Garden on July fourth weekend
on a Friday night with like a thousand guests.
Speaker 1 (23:54):
Not at all, with Adam Sandler officiating.
Speaker 2 (23:57):
Yeah, you know, Travis got to pick that, like Travis
got his one thing.
Speaker 1 (24:05):
I think it's so beautiful, No, I thought.
Speaker 2 (24:10):
I also saw people on Twitter being like, you got
married on a Friday night, Like what are you poor?
Speaker 1 (24:16):
I just gotta save money on the venue, So I
think I also figured maybe they got married privately somewhere
else and then they were gonna have this big party here. However,
I did caveat that that I think they have the
money to make msg look like a an Art deco
solarium for a night, like they don't. It can look
like anything in there.
Speaker 2 (24:35):
But can't they do that on a private island? Can't
they do that? Like? Literally up in Mars, like and
they could do it anything.
Speaker 1 (24:41):
Anywhere, literally on Mars. Yeah, it's an interesting choice. Maybe
they just wanted to be in the middle of it all.
And I will say New York City really gave it
up with the skyline and the sunset and it was
really really stunning the big signs out outside Madison Square
and were lit up right afterwards. I also like the
(25:03):
people being so grumpy about it. Yeah, Madison Square Garden
has a high profile event all the time. Sure hers
should not be judged any differently than any other one
for disruption. They were paying for their own security and
NYPD overtime to be there for them. And I don't know,
I like those too.
Speaker 2 (25:22):
I think we love love Eron normally.
Speaker 1 (25:25):
I think also maybe Travis influenced this decision. He's like,
that seems cool.
Speaker 2 (25:32):
Madison's Square gardens cool, little boy. I wanted to get
married and manage the square garden.
Speaker 1 (25:38):
And it was sweet. They both had their brothers on
either side, not a big you know.
Speaker 2 (25:43):
I like it.
Speaker 1 (25:44):
I'm rooting for those two.
Speaker 2 (25:45):
Why not, you know, more people get married because Taylor did.
It can't be bad.
Speaker 1 (25:50):
Oh one more thing. People were saying, it's like narcissistic
or something to get married on a July fourth weekend.
And I think it's a great anniversary to have a
July fourth weekend. There's always going to be a party.
If you love America, then like, what a great anniversary.
I don't have an issue with it.
Speaker 2 (26:07):
Sure, yes, it's just it just doesn't fit. But okay,
well and they did it. I can't keep pretending that
my friend Taylor did something weird here.
Speaker 1 (26:19):
But yeah, the not is tied. The knot has done
been tied. Yeah, I thought the same. I thought she
would get married somewhere that goes in a Taylor Swift
lyric and Madison Square Garden doesn't feel like that Sumuory.
Speaker 2 (26:32):
Book wedding on a you know, in a forest that
they made a little clearing and they like dropped her
in via hell like I mean, who knows, you.
Speaker 1 (26:42):
Know, I didn't.
Speaker 2 (26:44):
I didn't think if you roll on at CBS outside
of MSG on one hundred degree.
Speaker 1 (26:48):
Night, No, nope, that's what it was. I got dropped
into a basketball court.
Speaker 2 (26:55):
Maybe they just all played after maybe so all right, Well,
didn't think a short break and be right back with
another segment of normally we are back on normally where
Since the last time we spoke, more communists have been
elected in their Democratic primaries in Colorado. Last time we
(27:19):
covered that a bunch of Democratic Socialists won in New York.
This time it's in Colorado, with the most well known one,
melak Kiro's, winning the Democratic primary for Colorado's first congressional district,
defeating a fifteen term incumbent. I don't know, this is
all very worrisome. I know that that we're not supposed to, like,
(27:41):
you know, be too concerned about this, but I'm kind
of concerned.
Speaker 1 (27:45):
Yeah, well, okay, So Colorado is a great example of
a place that you know, people will say, oh, well,
these people are only winning in super blue areas. Yes, okay,
that may be true. But now these super blue areas
are not in New York, right Colorado. Colorado is a
place that, you know, until the last ten to fifteen years,
(28:05):
was definitely purple and is now trending toward total total
blueness to the extent that yes, socialists could win these seats.
And during the time that it has turned toward total
total blueness, the GOP, which could offer itself as a
non crazy alternative, has spun out on its own and
(28:29):
will now offer candidates who maybe will not be able
to counter these people because they are equally Lenny Tunes
in some cases. So I was hoping that the Normy,
for instance, would win in the Republican nomination for the governor.
But the Normy is looking a tiny bit behind the
(28:51):
not at all Normy.
Speaker 2 (28:53):
So yeah, yeah, it's a giant concern communism being on
the march in America, and it's two hundred fifty if
you're again, I'm glad that Trump is calling it out.
I feel like it was not common for, you know,
for all of us to point out that this is
where this was heading. And I like, again I like
using the word communist and communism because that is the
(29:15):
end result here. Like, I don't know what else we're
pretending progressive or democratic socialist means. They're knocking out other Democrats,
so they clearly have an agenda that goes far beyond that. Look,
you know, another thing is that they're already throwing out
people like Alexandro Cassio Cortez. There's like a thing going
(29:35):
around that she's a Zionist, and you know, Jennifer Say
tweeted this recently, but the revolution doesn't spare its architects,
and they should be very concerned Democrats that they're being
replaced with this super super left wing, and they don't
seem that concerned.
Speaker 1 (29:51):
No, because I think I think they understand that there's
energy in that sector, and they understand that that sector
is not exactly confining itself to democratic means of advancement.
Speaker 7 (30:06):
Right.
Speaker 1 (30:06):
I think they're scared of them. You know, Communists have
a history of not playing nicely, and so I think
they're scared of them. I think they know that that's
where young people are, and they want to keep the
young people, and they don't know a way to put
their foot down on this. They haven't for years. Nancy
Pelosi attempted to get an anti semitism resolution in Congress
(30:32):
to go after ilan Omar for saying some very obviously
antisemitic things, and she had to she was neutered by
the squad. She had to change it to like, well,
all discrimination is bad, really, yes, And so if Nancy
Pelosi can't have an answer for these folks, I don't
think how Keem Jeffreys is going to. And yes, it
(30:53):
is concerning because the thing about socialism is that you
have to compel people to do it with you. They
don't care if you don't agree with.
Speaker 2 (31:00):
That's right, right, yeah, yeah, So at the Free Beacon,
Jonathan Levine called up David Duke. For the people listening
who don't know who David Duke is. He was a
ku klux Klan grand wizard. He won a Louisiana Republican primary.
It was a big story for us in like the nineties,
(31:20):
and then the party united against him and made sure
that he didn't win. Even to though that meant supporting
the Democrat. I don't remember if it was governor or. Yeah,
I was governor Louisiana gubernatorial campaign in nineteen ninety one.
So Jonathan Levin calls up David Duke to ask him
what he thinks about Daria Liza a Vila Chevalier. She's
(31:43):
the candidate that won in New York that we talked about,
the really far left candidate. She had said that she
disapproves of inter racial romances, and so Levigne asks David Duke.
Speaker 1 (31:54):
For woke reasons for woke pinsence, it doesn't matter, right,
I mean, it's like you did.
Speaker 2 (31:59):
It doesn't matter where you agree. Reasons are. It's like
but Duke says, I think that people have the right
to preserve their particular heritage. And there you have it.
Speaker 1 (32:08):
You know, there you go.
Speaker 2 (32:10):
Are Democrats going to night to get rid of her
because she aligned with like a David Duke. They won't.
Speaker 1 (32:16):
Yeah, this is the horseshoe everybody. And actually you can
see it happening in speaking of throwing over the old stars,
you can see it happening in Michigan where the Senate
nomination battle is happening between Abdul say Ed who is leading.
And then there was Mallory McMorrow, who tried to be
the just right progressive and super anti Trump. Took the
(32:37):
stage at the DNC with the Giant Project twenty five book.
I don't know if you remember her, but that's how
she kind of became a star. And then Haley Stevens
is the establishment candidate, and he's surging Elsaiad as the
new version of progressive, which is anti Israel, very very democratic, socialist,
very frank about it. McMorrow, who was last year's model
(33:00):
the anti Trump progressive, has had to drop out of
the race. She suspended her campaign, and Stevens is sort
of muddling along as the establishment candidate. You know, she
was the hotness a year ago. But she's not anti
Israel enough, she's not loud enough about being a socialist,
and so she's going to be replaced by someone else.
Speaker 2 (33:21):
Yep, the revolution eats itself. That's what happens. All right,
We're going to take a short break and come right
back with one more segment of Normally. We're back on
normally where I get a New York Times email and
I think I still just let them send me email
so that I could be angry about something. And today
(33:44):
the email was about an editorial board opinion that they wrote.
So it's from the you know, from the New York Times,
an unsigned editorial. A great university is undermining itself and
it's about how the University of California system got rid
of SAT.
Speaker 1 (34:01):
Scores a number of years ago.
Speaker 2 (34:03):
And you won't believe what happened next. I know that
you're getting to be so surprised to hear that getting
rid of standards for admission meant that the standards declined.
And yeah, I know, I know. I also can't believe it,
but they are in deep trouble and that these students
(34:24):
that they've admitted are just not up to part at all.
And you know, fifteen hundred science and mathematics professors, including
the chairs of more than sixty departments, have signed a
letter asking the university to reinstate the test requirement. Now,
I lived in New York City most of my life,
and there's we called them screens, schools that had screens.
(34:46):
Like if you needed to show good test scores or
your grades or attendance to get into a school, that's
a screen. And if you supported screens in schools, you
were racist and bigoted and you wanted bad things for
black people. And here we are in the New York Times,
suddenly screens are good and I feel like I'm on
(35:06):
blue because duh, this was going to happen, And how
do you not realize it? And where is the apology
to go along with this article?
Speaker 1 (35:14):
Oh, there's never an apology. They just change their minds
and they forget that they called everybody racist who disagreed
with them before. Also, this is so bad for the
people who get through without having to go to testing,
because then you end up in a situation where either
the educational institution itself commits suicide on its standards in
order to serve you thereby still learn nothing or you
(35:39):
struggle because it keeps its standards high and you aren't
able to meet them. It's also bad, ironically, and we
find this out with progressive policies so often for minority
and economically dis encantaged students who despite their disadvantages such
that they may be or the way they were brought
up or the schools they went to, they can be
smart enough to form on a standardized test, and then
(36:02):
that will help them come to the top of the
choices for these institutions. It's actually a way to give
them a leg up when they're really, really bright and
they're just like, nah, let's just do the old school
connections and patronage and nonsense instead of the testing. Yeah,
so bad, I'm really I think part of being a
(36:23):
parent now so much is wanting to raise children who
simply know things. I would like them to know things.
I would like them to think things, I would like
them to read things.
Speaker 7 (36:34):
And a lot of.
Speaker 1 (36:35):
Education is the opposite of that.
Speaker 2 (36:37):
These days, it's crazy, and it's crazier because you know,
the New York Times, the editorial board has had previous
editorial is called like integrate New York's best schools, and
it's against the sh SAT test that you get into
the best New York City high schools like Stuyvesantam, Bronx
Science in Brooklyn Tech. And then another editorial they had
(36:57):
how well the sh s AT prediction student success remains unknown?
And like it was never unknown, you always understood that
if everybody's taking the same test, you can see who
does best on it. So one of the things they
say in it was California's policy change was part of
a national anti testing push that has combined a vital
(37:18):
concern with a fundamental misunderstanding. The concern is about deep
inequities in American education that particularly affect low income, Black,
Latino and Native students. Each of these groups score below
average on the SAT and act the misunderstanding about the
reason for these gaps. The critics claim that the two
tests are biased and therefore are cause of inequities. But
you know what it ends up being is that these
(37:39):
kids go to bad schools, and that that should be
where you start this fixing this problem. Getting rid of
tests doesn't actually fix that.
Speaker 1 (37:48):
What about closing them for a year and a half
would that help?
Speaker 2 (37:51):
Caryl?
Speaker 1 (37:51):
I feel like it was also a racist to argue
that that might be a problem. This is the thing
and when that is the cudgel that they pull out
every time you know they're failing. You know they're failing,
they're failing, and they're failing generations of kids.
Speaker 2 (38:06):
Yep, kids were unprepared for rigor of school because they
went to bad schools and then nobody tested them to
find out that those schools were bad. It's it's a
self prophecy here at this point.
Speaker 1 (38:19):
Yeah, and it's creeping into more and more and more
schools because once you know that there's no testing, it's like,
I mean, do we have to know things anymore?
Speaker 4 (38:27):
Right?
Speaker 2 (38:27):
What's the point scheck the teachers? You mean? And that's it?
Speaker 1 (38:31):
All right, It's not great.
Speaker 2 (38:33):
No, Well, thanks for listening to us on normally normally
airs Tuesdays and Thursdays, and you can subscribe anywhere you
get your podcasts. Get in touch with us at normallythepod
at gmail dot com. Thanks for listening, and when things
get weird, act normally
Hey guys, we are back on normally the show with
normalist takes for when the news gets weird.
Speaker 2 (00:10):
I am Mary Catherine Ham and I'm Carol Markowitz. How
are you, Mary Catherine? Happy two hundred and fifty years
to this great country.
Speaker 1 (00:18):
Of ours, Happy to fiftieth. It's it's quite an occasion.
I've been living a period accurate lifestyle because my phone
went in the lake, So just just pretending that I'm
a colonialist, a patriot of long ago with no way
to contact anyone.
Speaker 2 (00:37):
Are you kind of enjoying it? Like there's no scrolling, right,
I mean, it's.
Speaker 1 (00:40):
Got a nice discuss, so I may I may have
missed a few things, but I've tried to catch up.
Speaker 2 (00:47):
It was a really busy weekend. I mean that was
a busy Independence Day weekend. That was not like one
of those relaxing, like you know, luxurious weekend. No, No,
this was it was on so I don't know. First
of all, Trump and mom Donnie had competing speeches, and
we'll get into that in a minute. The United States
(01:10):
had a red card during their soccer match and it
got overturned yesterday, and that's a real big deal, and
we'll talk about that Taylor Swift and Travis Kelcey got
married because so many things. Yeah, so just you know
a lot of stuff.
Speaker 1 (01:27):
Yeah, we had a great time. We always host family
for July fourth, so it's a you know, it's hectic.
I do love how my children just are completely on
their own when the cousins are there, like there's no
they don't need me anymore. They're like your pesse mom here.
(01:50):
So that's always fun. It's hectic, but they're off doing
their own thing. Had some great swimming times despite the heat.
And I don't know, it's I think it's hard to make.
I have feel this pressure to make sure I'm celebrating
and understanding enough how amazing this anniversary is, this birthday is.
But also I think we did get the We had
(02:11):
the kids watch The Patriot, which I felt like it
was a pretty good July fourth call and they were
very into it.
Speaker 2 (02:17):
I to add that to my movie list. I have
two out of three of my kids are away, which
was a bummer because I really wanted to celebrate you know,
two fifty with them. It's obviously like a really big deal,
and I wanted to go see Young Washington. We're going
to go see it when they come back and nice.
You know, it's a it's a family event celebrating our
incredible country and our two hundred fifty anniversary.
Speaker 1 (02:41):
It was great. I did we did suffer from the
very serious thunderstorms here. We were not in the city,
but nonetheless were hit by them, and it was it
was pretty exciting, everybody just running for the house. That
happened a lot.
Speaker 2 (02:57):
I have to say that the thunderstorm out of nowhere
is one of our one of our things. But we
had like glorious, like not too hot weather at all
while there was a New York and in DC. It
was funny because I you know, I was like, oh,
you guys are just we're gonna have the same weather.
And then it was like, oh, we're actually gonna have
like eighty and breezy.
Speaker 1 (03:17):
Yeah that's nice. But again, once again, once the cousins
are there, I feel like my children's uh stamina goes up,
like they're just like you always think they're gonna melt
or they're gonna melt down. It's just it's gonna be
too much. And then they're like, no, I'm still good.
I've been I've been swimming and running around in one
hundred gree heat and I'm totally fine.
Speaker 2 (03:39):
Mom. Yeah, great, it feels like the eighties and nineteen eighties.
You know, that's what we did. We ran around the
heat and there was nobody to be like, oh, you know,
are you gonna are you gonna be okay? Can I
get you anything? Like?
Speaker 1 (03:50):
They didn't even give us water. No, it was a
different time.
Speaker 2 (03:55):
It was a different didn't even live on who knows.
I don't know.
Speaker 1 (03:59):
I think I I I thought I was dehydrated for
about thirty years, and then one day I realized, oh,
I would feel better if I just drink.
Speaker 2 (04:06):
At Yeah, it really does work, that water.
Speaker 3 (04:09):
It's the whole thing, all right, let's get let's talk
about it, Momdanie decided to give a two fifty speech,
which everybody was like why.
Speaker 2 (04:22):
Because he did not seem like he was into America
or America's birthday or any of it at all. He
spent the entire World Cup wearing a New York jersey
for a team that like you know, is not playing,
and it made no sense. So him deciding to give
a speech was very like I on the future of
like his you know, political future. But he also is
(04:45):
not born in America, so he can't run for president.
So what is that futures? You want to be governor
of New York. I mean mayors of New York generally
do not go on to be governors. I think very
I would say maybe none. I every one of them
ends in disaster. So yeah, that's that's the confusing Mumdannie.
Speaker 1 (05:05):
I think I think he did it because there's an
opening for a leader of this party. Yeah, and he
is a Democratic socialist, and he would prefer that the
leader of this party be a Democratic socialist to a Democrat.
Now for you and I, we might look at your
average LIB and say, eh, you guys aren't that far
apart really, which is which is why I think the
(05:26):
likes of Hackeim Jeffreys are going to get rolled so
hard by Mom Donnie and the socialists. But to him,
he's like, look, I am an official, real, loud and
proud socialist, and I would like to be the one
calling the shots. So he's putting himself in the position
where he is giving a speech basically opposite Trump, and
(05:48):
they did embody very different visions for the United States
of America. And that's what he's putting out there.
Speaker 2 (05:54):
Yeah, So what was interesting was, Mum, Donnie's known for
being this smiley so he's having a good time. He's
jumping into pools fully clothed, he's you know, riding his
bicycle around New York City. He's supposed to be the
fun guy, and he came off as dour and just
not angry here but very not on the mark, which
(06:18):
was funny because Trump came off as extremely likable and personable.
And the criticism, of course of Trump is that he
often talks about himself and he didn't do that this time.
He like paid tribute to veterans and you know, armed
forces and our America's amazing accomplishments. And so what you
hide from, mom Donnie is he's standing around with what
he said was newly sworn in Americans who had immigrated
(06:43):
to this country. You know, I was like them at
one point. They're standing there holding these little flags as
if they're in a hostage video. Nobody's smiling, nobody's having
a good time, and it just it's at odds with
the message that's been there for a out him, which
is that he's this you know, happy socialist. He's the
(07:04):
happy warrior socialist and didn't seem like he was happy
at all.
Speaker 1 (07:08):
Yeah, it was a strange vibe. I think it was
a fairly uncharacteristic misstep for him with tone. It felt
as you say, I think he's best. He's at his
best when he looks like he's having fun, and he's
pretty good at looking like he's having fun frequently, and
that takes off the hard edges of the you know,
philosophy that has killed millions of people around the world.
(07:30):
So the unworkable economic philosophy leads to ruin. And so
that is his strength, and he did not play to
his strength here, and he took what is our most
joyous civic observance, which is the naturalization of citizen like
(07:53):
you've You've been to them. I've been to them, You've
been naturalized like this is. It's a an incredible moment
where you're welcoming new people. They're very excited to be citizens,
You're excited to have them. It's something that's you know,
deep in our you know, American DNA to do this,
and I've never seen one where the recipients of American
(08:17):
citizenship look this sad, and I think they they quickly
figured out that this wasn't a great look. Because again,
he's great at pictures. He does the jump into the pool,
he does the you know, the jersey everywhere he goes,
and the play in soccer on the field and in
his tie and all that. He does pictures very well.
He does imagery very well. This did not look good.
(08:39):
He's sitting at Washington's desk with a frown on his face,
surrounded by people with frowns on their faces, and talking
about how American exceptionalism is only exceptional because you know,
he can still change America to make it in his mold.
I guess right, right, we have a clip? Right, do
we have a clip? And I will note too. The
(08:59):
next day they put up another picture where everybody's smiling.
It is not reflected in this bit here, which we'll
see him give a little bit of a speech.
Speaker 4 (09:08):
There is a term so often used to describe our
nation and those who have shaped it, American exceptionalism. American exceptionalism,
the conventional wisdom tells us, makes our freedom a little
more free. Is how we dug the Erie Canal and
irrigated the West. Is why children in far away lands
grow up dreaming of one day moving here. And yet
the irony is that the story of America has so
(09:29):
often been written by those who were told by others
with power and influence and wealth that they were anything
but exceptional. For generation after generation, we have been told
that when the world has sent its people to our shores,
it has not sent its best. It sent Puritans and
Sikhs and Quakers and Muslims and Jewish people who were
banished for praying the wrong way, worshiping the wrong gods,
(09:51):
angering the wrong people. It sent peasants and serfs from
slums and chettles who were treated as less because they
hardly owned clothes, let alone land. It sent immigrants from
whom power was something someone else had. We are told
that America is exceptional because we are richer, stronger, more
powerful than everyone else. The truth, my friends, is that
(10:13):
America is exceptional because here nothing is fixed into place.
The frontier may be closed, we may have walked on
the moon, but the work of fulfilling the values first
enshrined in the Declaration of Independence. That work endures, and
it belongs to us all. It belongs to to our
newest Americans, those standing here with me today, all of
(10:34):
whom were recently naturalized. Nearly a decade ago, I too
felt what you feel, the joy of no longer being
just a New Yorker, but an American too. You each
hold a special power, the power to determine what America means.
The powerful have always known their answer. America, in their view,
is an arena of supremacy. We're only a select view
(10:57):
or allowed freedom where not all are created equal. America,
if you ask them, becomes less the more people it welcomes. America,
they will tell you, belongs only to those with the
right accent or the right shade of skin. The rest
of us, they insist, should be grateful for merely being
allowed to visit, how small they are, how weak, how unoriginal.
(11:18):
At every moment in our past, those who led through
exclusion and isolation have tried to win power and enrich
themselves by turning us against one another. Division is the
oldest trick in politics and the cheapest. But time and again,
including two hundred and fifty years ago, though, those forces
of division have been vanquished by the forces of progress.
(11:41):
As Thomas Paine once wrote, this New World hath been
the asylum for the persecuted lovers of civil and religious liberty.
Hither have they fled. And yet today too many of
our leaders do not believe in a vision of this
nation as an asylum for the persecuted.
Speaker 2 (11:57):
All right, yeah, you know. Just the thing is, the
last five plus years had the concern about immigration. The
conversation about immigration has not been about race, and it
has not been about religion. It has been about the
papers that these people lack in getting into our country.
(12:17):
They're not coming legally. And from Homdanni, that has been fine.
For the rest of us. We don't think that's fine.
We don't think that breaking the law to get here
because you don't think that America's law should be respected,
is acceptable. And so him turning it into a thing
about race or religion or whatever, it is completely not
about that, and it hasn't been. And he has to
(12:39):
step over the point, which is that legal immigration is
bad for our country in order to get there, and
it's really disingenuous.
Speaker 1 (12:46):
He's also appropriating the actual hard and legal work that
all of the people flanking him did to become legally
naturalized citizens. By sort of just blurring the categories in
this way, I think he gets in exactly backwards. We
are rich and strong and powerful and prosperous because we
(13:07):
are exceptional and free. Yeah, like he gets it exactly backwards.
He says our freedom is better because we're richer, we're strong, right,
like the crazy stew that made this country made us
rich and prosperous and strong and inventive and creative and
all of those things. And there also is this there's
(13:30):
such great irony in being a progressive, because being a
progressive means one must never admit progress. So in the
same speech, he's saying, the afflicted came here in the
sixteen seventeen hundreds, eighteen hundreds, all throughout right when we
were this terrible nation that hadn't met its promises. They're
(13:51):
coming because they were persecuted. They're not the best according
to the powerful. They've been coming here for hundreds of years,
and now he has to say that in twenty twenty six,
that has all changed, no progress has been made. We
are so terrible. Yeah, Like, that's just not ringing true
for me. It could just be that there were no
(14:12):
rules for five years and people were like, we should
have rules again.
Speaker 2 (14:16):
Yep, that's exactly it. And I think a lot of people,
like I read things that I wrote, you know, in
the last decade, and I don't believe those things anymore
because of what happened in the last five years. Like
my view on a lot of things has changed. I think,
for example, I used to be extremely into the idea
of birthright citizenship. I thought it was an incredible thing
that we had in America right, and then all these
(14:37):
people took advantage of it, and I no longer think that.
It's like, you have to evolve on your views. You
can't just you know, hold on to them. And I
think what happened in the last five years really shifted
a lot of perceptions. And he's trying to make it
seem as if the anti immigrant sentiment is about the
people standing around him, and it's just not.
Speaker 1 (14:59):
He also repeatedly says, you know, he's fighting division, but
then he's like this mythical they tell you they if
you ask them, they say something different. It's all very dour,
and I do have to say there is sort of
a time, place, and manner issue with the way liberals
(15:19):
talk about the country. Like if you had a friend
whose birthday party it was, and you just walked in
and were like, I mean, you're not so perfect. The
friend would be like, I mean, it's my birthday, and
it's like and here you are not answering for all
your faults, and your friend is like, I don't. I
just thought we'd have a party, and the lives like,
(15:40):
absolutely not, we cannot do that. We gotta lecture you.
And the throat clearing on the occasion of the two
hundred and fiftieth birthday is annoying. I don't think it
is something that is reflected in normal period people's experience
of these of this holiday.
Speaker 2 (15:57):
And I'm really glad, you know, so some of the
things that I've I enjoyed in the last few days.
I don't know if you saw, but John and Rassic
who is He's the wonderful band five for Fighting. He
performed on the USS Knimits, and he performed his song
(16:17):
Superman for the Navy at FDNY Heroes and gold Star Families,
and he performed it with former hostage in Israel alone,
Oh Hill, and it's just it was so beautiful and
it was like a miracle, watching a miracle come to life. Really,
our friend Jarvis's Best said it best. I think on
X he said, first time I saw John alone was
(16:38):
a hostage in Gaza. John told everyone that he was
going to do this one day. It was a nice thought,
but and then here you.
Speaker 5 (16:44):
Are here, they are so really really I also liked
and I would say in so the July fourth celebration
on the Mall, of course featured I think they said
like eight hundred and fifty thousand fireworks.
Speaker 1 (16:57):
I was not there for that part. I was not
there for the July fourth celebration. I had been on
them all earlier in the week. But I would encourage
everybody to say that Trump's going to make every speech
about himself, because the more you say that, the shorter
his speeches are liable to be. The occasions where this
has happened have been the Army's Birthday, where I think
(17:18):
he gave one of his shortest speeches, and at the
UFC fight, where I don't believe he gave a speech.
I think the camera pan to him and he did
not give a speech. And then this one, I think
it was about a thirty five minute speech on the
occasion of the two fiftieth after, as you said, people
had been evacuated and then been able to come back in.
It was very late at night. I was a little
worried that he was just going to talk for a very,
(17:39):
very long time. But he honored Medal of Honor recipients,
He honored World War Two veterans. There's a stunning shot
of World War Two vets watching the display from their memorial.
A beautiful thing. And he kind of for all his faults,
he gets it. It's an exceptional nation because of the
(18:01):
idea and the brave people who created this free place.
Speaker 2 (18:05):
And look he hit his topics. You know, he talked
about tightening election laws, proof of citizenship, restrictions on mail voting.
I mean, this all went into his speech, but ultimately
it was a speech about how amazing America is. You
know what else he did that? I thought it was interesting.
I think people are starting to use the language like communism.
It is what's happening. And we'll talk more about some
(18:27):
communes that want elections in the next segment. But I
think it's just a more obvious, blunt way of describing
the people who are winning, like this democratic socialist nonsense
label is not one that we should give them just
because they chose it for themselves. It's not what it is.
It is communism, and I think Trump calling it out.
Speaker 1 (18:45):
I like it well, and we should also entertain exactly
what they say their goals are right, And it's not
like healthcare for all, although that is listed among them.
It's like we should overthrow the American gun. So I
think dealing seriously with that is part of being honest
about who they are, even if they want to claim
it's just like, oh, just like Medica for all, that's
(19:07):
like what we're into. But yeah, I appreciate it. I
think we have a little clip of Trump also speaking
to what makes this country exceptional.
Speaker 6 (19:17):
For two and a half centuries, our American Republic has
stood as the crowning.
Speaker 7 (19:21):
Achievement of human history.
Speaker 6 (19:25):
This country is the home of freedom.
Speaker 7 (19:28):
This is the land of liberty. And this is a
flag that's the banner.
Speaker 6 (19:34):
Of the most extraordinary, most exceptional, most incredible nation ever
to exist on the face of the earth. And we're
doing better now than we've ever done before. No people
have done more good, shown more courage, made more progress,
(19:54):
righted more injustice, or achieved more greatness than you, the
American people. For two hundred and fifty years, the United
States of America has been the hope, the promise, the light,
and the glory among all of the nations of the world.
Speaker 7 (20:11):
All over the world, they try and be like us.
Speaker 6 (20:14):
Nobody can be like us, and with the God's help,
we will always be this or even better.
Speaker 1 (20:22):
Those are the two visions. It's pretty clear and pretty distinct.
Speaker 2 (20:27):
Any other points from the weekend? Actually, I have another one.
Melissa Chen posted this amazing video of her boyfriend Winston Marshall.
He was in a band called Mumford and Sons and
then was asked to leave because he didn't have the
right political opinions, but he posted this. She posted this
great video of him talking about a tribute to the
banjo and it's like, it's a very American instrument and
(20:50):
I just loved it. I watched the whole thing. It's
like eight minutes long, and it's just a gorgeous video
describing this beautiful instrument that's all American and it was
really nice to see.
Speaker 1 (21:01):
Oh, very nice. Do we want to do the two
other big American events this week? Well, there's the red
card being overturned by FIFA. So one of our star
strikers on the USA team was given a pretty questionable
red card in the last matchup that looked quite accidental
(21:23):
and a red card means he's out for that game,
which we then ended up winning despite being down a man,
and he's supposed to be out for the next game,
which would have been very problematic against Belgium. That will
have been played by the time you hear this. But
in the meantime there was talk of can you appeal this?
What does that look like? And apparently the US lawyered
up FIFA was examining Trump at some point made a.
Speaker 2 (21:47):
Call and now it's overturned, right, So Clay Travis reports
that his sources say President Trump Commerce Secretary Howard lutnik,
I just love that Lutnix. He's just involved here. I'm
not really sure what the role is. And then he
says White House Task Force head Andrew Giuliani put together
a team of elite lawyers from outside the government to
challenge the flow ball again red card. Specifically, they challenged
(22:09):
the use of slow motion instant replay to give the
red card, which they argued violated FIFA rules. The President
also conveyed the Gianni Infantino, FIFA's president, that the appeal
had been filed and he believed the red card penalty
was excessive. FIFA's independent Committee reviewed the decision and agreed
the penalty was incorrectly given, rescinding it under their rule
twenty seven authority. Now, people who love Trump are like
(22:31):
Trump did this, and people who hate Trump are like
Trump did this. But it turns out, or it sounds
like that FIFA did this for their own purposes and
really not having much to do with Donald Trump. It's
a really good tweets arrest them.
Speaker 1 (22:47):
Like I did see some funny tweets that were like,
be honest with yourselself. If you think Kamala Harris would
have gotten this red card and turned, you're crazy. But
I do think this makes us a real soccer nation
for the like questionable FIFA reactions that are maybe a
little on the corrupt side, like you know, at least
from a parent's sake, were fully soccer people. Now, I guess, yeah,
(23:10):
all right, we'll take it.
Speaker 2 (23:11):
You know, all right. The other big story, Taylor Swift
got married at Madison Square Garden. And you know, when
I would say things out loud like wow, this really
just doesn't seem like Taylor Swift at all, my husband
would say, you don't actually know her, and that's fair, that's.
Speaker 1 (23:27):
A good that's a fair point shot.
Speaker 2 (23:30):
Very good. Yes's true, But of what I know of her,
it did not seem like something she would do. Even
til the last minute. I kept being like, this is
some sort of psych out, this is.
Speaker 1 (23:40):
A fake out.
Speaker 2 (23:41):
There's no way this is really how she's going to
get married. But no, she did it. That crazy crazy
lady married at Madison Square Garden on July fourth weekend
on a Friday night with like a thousand guests.
Speaker 1 (23:54):
Not at all, with Adam Sandler officiating.
Speaker 2 (23:57):
Yeah, you know, Travis got to pick that, like Travis
got his one thing.
Speaker 1 (24:05):
I think it's so beautiful, No, I thought.
Speaker 2 (24:10):
I also saw people on Twitter being like, you got
married on a Friday night, Like what are you poor?
Speaker 1 (24:16):
I just gotta save money on the venue, So I
think I also figured maybe they got married privately somewhere
else and then they were gonna have this big party here. However,
I did caveat that that I think they have the
money to make msg look like a an Art deco
solarium for a night, like they don't. It can look
like anything in there.
Speaker 2 (24:35):
But can't they do that on a private island? Can't
they do that? Like? Literally up in Mars, like and
they could do it anything.
Speaker 1 (24:41):
Anywhere, literally on Mars. Yeah, it's an interesting choice. Maybe
they just wanted to be in the middle of it all.
And I will say New York City really gave it
up with the skyline and the sunset and it was
really really stunning the big signs out outside Madison Square
and were lit up right afterwards. I also like the
(25:03):
people being so grumpy about it. Yeah, Madison Square Garden
has a high profile event all the time. Sure hers
should not be judged any differently than any other one
for disruption. They were paying for their own security and
NYPD overtime to be there for them. And I don't know,
I like those too.
Speaker 2 (25:22):
I think we love love Eron normally.
Speaker 1 (25:25):
I think also maybe Travis influenced this decision. He's like,
that seems cool.
Speaker 2 (25:32):
Madison's Square gardens cool, little boy. I wanted to get
married and manage the square garden.
Speaker 1 (25:38):
And it was sweet. They both had their brothers on
either side, not a big you know.
Speaker 2 (25:43):
I like it.
Speaker 1 (25:44):
I'm rooting for those two.
Speaker 2 (25:45):
Why not, you know, more people get married because Taylor did.
It can't be bad.
Speaker 1 (25:50):
Oh one more thing. People were saying, it's like narcissistic
or something to get married on a July fourth weekend.
And I think it's a great anniversary to have a
July fourth weekend. There's always going to be a party.
If you love America, then like, what a great anniversary.
I don't have an issue with it.
Speaker 2 (26:07):
Sure, yes, it's just it just doesn't fit. But okay,
well and they did it. I can't keep pretending that
my friend Taylor did something weird here.
Speaker 1 (26:19):
But yeah, the not is tied. The knot has done
been tied. Yeah, I thought the same. I thought she
would get married somewhere that goes in a Taylor Swift
lyric and Madison Square Garden doesn't feel like that Sumuory.
Speaker 2 (26:32):
Book wedding on a you know, in a forest that
they made a little clearing and they like dropped her
in via hell like I mean, who knows, you.
Speaker 1 (26:42):
Know, I didn't.
Speaker 2 (26:44):
I didn't think if you roll on at CBS outside
of MSG on one hundred degree.
Speaker 1 (26:48):
Night, No, nope, that's what it was. I got dropped
into a basketball court.
Speaker 2 (26:55):
Maybe they just all played after maybe so all right, Well,
didn't think a short break and be right back with
another segment of normally we are back on normally where
Since the last time we spoke, more communists have been
elected in their Democratic primaries in Colorado. Last time we
(27:19):
covered that a bunch of Democratic Socialists won in New York.
This time it's in Colorado, with the most well known one,
melak Kiro's, winning the Democratic primary for Colorado's first congressional district,
defeating a fifteen term incumbent. I don't know, this is
all very worrisome. I know that that we're not supposed to, like,
(27:41):
you know, be too concerned about this, but I'm kind
of concerned.
Speaker 1 (27:45):
Yeah, well, okay, So Colorado is a great example of
a place that you know, people will say, oh, well,
these people are only winning in super blue areas. Yes, okay,
that may be true. But now these super blue areas
are not in New York, right Colorado. Colorado is a
place that, you know, until the last ten to fifteen years,
(28:05):
was definitely purple and is now trending toward total total
blueness to the extent that yes, socialists could win these seats.
And during the time that it has turned toward total
total blueness, the GOP, which could offer itself as a
non crazy alternative, has spun out on its own and
(28:29):
will now offer candidates who maybe will not be able
to counter these people because they are equally Lenny Tunes
in some cases. So I was hoping that the Normy,
for instance, would win in the Republican nomination for the governor.
But the Normy is looking a tiny bit behind the
(28:51):
not at all Normy.
Speaker 2 (28:53):
So yeah, yeah, it's a giant concern communism being on
the march in America, and it's two hundred fifty if
you're again, I'm glad that Trump is calling it out.
I feel like it was not common for, you know,
for all of us to point out that this is
where this was heading. And I like, again I like
using the word communist and communism because that is the
(29:15):
end result here. Like, I don't know what else we're
pretending progressive or democratic socialist means. They're knocking out other Democrats,
so they clearly have an agenda that goes far beyond that. Look,
you know, another thing is that they're already throwing out
people like Alexandro Cassio Cortez. There's like a thing going
(29:35):
around that she's a Zionist, and you know, Jennifer Say
tweeted this recently, but the revolution doesn't spare its architects,
and they should be very concerned Democrats that they're being
replaced with this super super left wing, and they don't
seem that concerned.
Speaker 1 (29:51):
No, because I think I think they understand that there's
energy in that sector, and they understand that that sector
is not exactly confining itself to democratic means of advancement.
Speaker 7 (30:06):
Right.
Speaker 1 (30:06):
I think they're scared of them. You know, Communists have
a history of not playing nicely, and so I think
they're scared of them. I think they know that that's
where young people are, and they want to keep the
young people, and they don't know a way to put
their foot down on this. They haven't for years. Nancy
Pelosi attempted to get an anti semitism resolution in Congress
(30:32):
to go after ilan Omar for saying some very obviously
antisemitic things, and she had to she was neutered by
the squad. She had to change it to like, well,
all discrimination is bad, really, yes, And so if Nancy
Pelosi can't have an answer for these folks, I don't
think how Keem Jeffreys is going to. And yes, it
(30:53):
is concerning because the thing about socialism is that you
have to compel people to do it with you. They
don't care if you don't agree with.
Speaker 2 (31:00):
That's right, right, yeah, yeah, So at the Free Beacon,
Jonathan Levine called up David Duke. For the people listening
who don't know who David Duke is. He was a
ku klux Klan grand wizard. He won a Louisiana Republican primary.
It was a big story for us in like the nineties,
(31:20):
and then the party united against him and made sure
that he didn't win. Even to though that meant supporting
the Democrat. I don't remember if it was governor or. Yeah,
I was governor Louisiana gubernatorial campaign in nineteen ninety one.
So Jonathan Levin calls up David Duke to ask him
what he thinks about Daria Liza a Vila Chevalier. She's
(31:43):
the candidate that won in New York that we talked about,
the really far left candidate. She had said that she
disapproves of inter racial romances, and so Levigne asks David Duke.
Speaker 1 (31:54):
For woke reasons for woke pinsence, it doesn't matter, right,
I mean, it's like you did.
Speaker 2 (31:59):
It doesn't matter where you agree. Reasons are. It's like
but Duke says, I think that people have the right
to preserve their particular heritage. And there you have it.
Speaker 1 (32:08):
You know, there you go.
Speaker 2 (32:10):
Are Democrats going to night to get rid of her
because she aligned with like a David Duke. They won't.
Speaker 1 (32:16):
Yeah, this is the horseshoe everybody. And actually you can
see it happening in speaking of throwing over the old stars,
you can see it happening in Michigan where the Senate
nomination battle is happening between Abdul say Ed who is leading.
And then there was Mallory McMorrow, who tried to be
the just right progressive and super anti Trump. Took the
(32:37):
stage at the DNC with the Giant Project twenty five book.
I don't know if you remember her, but that's how
she kind of became a star. And then Haley Stevens
is the establishment candidate, and he's surging Elsaiad as the
new version of progressive, which is anti Israel, very very democratic, socialist,
very frank about it. McMorrow, who was last year's model
(33:00):
the anti Trump progressive, has had to drop out of
the race. She suspended her campaign, and Stevens is sort
of muddling along as the establishment candidate. You know, she
was the hotness a year ago. But she's not anti
Israel enough, she's not loud enough about being a socialist,
and so she's going to be replaced by someone else.
Speaker 2 (33:21):
Yep, the revolution eats itself. That's what happens. All right,
We're going to take a short break and come right
back with one more segment of Normally. We're back on
normally where I get a New York Times email and
I think I still just let them send me email
so that I could be angry about something. And today
(33:44):
the email was about an editorial board opinion that they wrote.
So it's from the you know, from the New York Times,
an unsigned editorial. A great university is undermining itself and
it's about how the University of California system got rid
of SAT.
Speaker 1 (34:01):
Scores a number of years ago.
Speaker 2 (34:03):
And you won't believe what happened next. I know that
you're getting to be so surprised to hear that getting
rid of standards for admission meant that the standards declined.
And yeah, I know, I know. I also can't believe it,
but they are in deep trouble and that these students
(34:24):
that they've admitted are just not up to part at all.
And you know, fifteen hundred science and mathematics professors, including
the chairs of more than sixty departments, have signed a
letter asking the university to reinstate the test requirement. Now,
I lived in New York City most of my life,
and there's we called them screens, schools that had screens.
(34:46):
Like if you needed to show good test scores or
your grades or attendance to get into a school, that's
a screen. And if you supported screens in schools, you
were racist and bigoted and you wanted bad things for
black people. And here we are in the New York Times,
suddenly screens are good and I feel like I'm on
(35:06):
blue because duh, this was going to happen, And how
do you not realize it? And where is the apology
to go along with this article?
Speaker 1 (35:14):
Oh, there's never an apology. They just change their minds
and they forget that they called everybody racist who disagreed
with them before. Also, this is so bad for the
people who get through without having to go to testing,
because then you end up in a situation where either
the educational institution itself commits suicide on its standards in
order to serve you thereby still learn nothing or you
(35:39):
struggle because it keeps its standards high and you aren't
able to meet them. It's also bad, ironically, and we
find this out with progressive policies so often for minority
and economically dis encantaged students who despite their disadvantages such
that they may be or the way they were brought
up or the schools they went to, they can be
smart enough to form on a standardized test, and then
(36:02):
that will help them come to the top of the
choices for these institutions. It's actually a way to give
them a leg up when they're really, really bright and
they're just like, nah, let's just do the old school
connections and patronage and nonsense instead of the testing. Yeah,
so bad, I'm really I think part of being a
(36:23):
parent now so much is wanting to raise children who
simply know things. I would like them to know things.
I would like them to think things, I would like
them to read things.
Speaker 7 (36:34):
And a lot of.
Speaker 1 (36:35):
Education is the opposite of that.
Speaker 2 (36:37):
These days, it's crazy, and it's crazier because you know,
the New York Times, the editorial board has had previous
editorial is called like integrate New York's best schools, and
it's against the sh SAT test that you get into
the best New York City high schools like Stuyvesantam, Bronx
Science in Brooklyn Tech. And then another editorial they had
(36:57):
how well the sh s AT prediction student success remains unknown?
And like it was never unknown, you always understood that
if everybody's taking the same test, you can see who
does best on it. So one of the things they
say in it was California's policy change was part of
a national anti testing push that has combined a vital
(37:18):
concern with a fundamental misunderstanding. The concern is about deep
inequities in American education that particularly affect low income, Black,
Latino and Native students. Each of these groups score below
average on the SAT and act the misunderstanding about the
reason for these gaps. The critics claim that the two
tests are biased and therefore are cause of inequities. But
you know what it ends up being is that these
(37:39):
kids go to bad schools, and that that should be
where you start this fixing this problem. Getting rid of
tests doesn't actually fix that.
Speaker 1 (37:48):
What about closing them for a year and a half
would that help?
Speaker 2 (37:51):
Caryl?
Speaker 1 (37:51):
I feel like it was also a racist to argue
that that might be a problem. This is the thing
and when that is the cudgel that they pull out
every time you know they're failing. You know they're failing,
they're failing, and they're failing generations of kids.
Speaker 2 (38:06):
Yep, kids were unprepared for rigor of school because they
went to bad schools and then nobody tested them to
find out that those schools were bad. It's it's a
self prophecy here at this point.
Speaker 1 (38:19):
Yeah, and it's creeping into more and more and more
schools because once you know that there's no testing, it's like,
I mean, do we have to know things anymore?
Speaker 4 (38:27):
Right?
Speaker 2 (38:27):
What's the point scheck the teachers? You mean? And that's it?
Speaker 1 (38:31):
All right, It's not great.
Speaker 2 (38:33):
No, Well, thanks for listening to us on normally normally
airs Tuesdays and Thursdays, and you can subscribe anywhere you
get your podcasts. Get in touch with us at normallythepod
at gmail dot com. Thanks for listening, and when things
get weird, act normally
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Buck Sexton
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